June 03, 2009

Happy birthday to UPC

Did you know the UPC (universal product code) bar code turns 35 this month? It was first put into use in an Ohio supermarket in June of 1974. The first product scanned: Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum.

Critics abounded at the time – some said it would die a quick death because it so de-humanized the shopping experience – but it’s now of course clear that the UPC lasted a whole lot longer than the criticism... and a stick of Juicy Fruit.

Talk about a great invention!

So as GS1 US, the American administrator of the UPC, today throws a birthday party for the UPC (did somebody say cake?), we wanted to pause, pay tribute, and also highlight why the UPC has so effectively lasted the test of time. Our thoughts:

It’s simple (at least once you as a manufacturer or retailer get the UPC set up in everyone's systems).

It’s inexpensive to apply on a broad scale.

It provide HUGE benefits: helping stores to carry more items, to better maintain their inventories, and to more easily (and quickly) ring up shoppers at the registers.